For example, a transmission display that projects an image onto a screen is known. A liquid crystal panel (liquid crystal optical shutter) is used for producing an image in such a transmission display. This liquid crystal panel is constructed so that a liquid crystal driving substrate (TFT substrate) having a plurality of thin-film transistors (TFTs) for controlling respective pixels and a plurality of pixel electrodes is bonded to a facing substrate for a liquid crystal panel having a black matrix, a common electrodes and the like via a liquid crystal layer.
Since the black matrix is formed at a portion other than the portions corresponding to pixels of the facing substrate for a liquid crystal panel in the liquid crystal panel (TFT liquid crystal panel) having such a structure, the region where the incident light is transmitted in the liquid crystal panel is restricted. Thus, transmittance of the incident light is reduced. In order to increase the transmittance of the incident light, a liquid crystal panel in which a large number of minute microlenses are provided at portions corresponding to pixels in a facing substrate for a liquid crystal panel is known. The light transmitted by the facing substrate for a liquid crystal panel is condensed to openings formed on the black matrix, thereby increasing the transmittance of the light.
As a method of forming concave portions in a substrate to form such microlenses (herein, etching method), for example, a method in which a mask is used is known (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-281383). Heretofore, a constituent material of such a mask has been selected by focusing on adhesion to the substrate to be subjected to an etching process or the like. However, in this method, since a film for forming the mask with a plurality of openings has predetermined internal stress and the formed openings may be deformed, it is difficult to control the shape and the size of concave portions (concave portions for forming microlenses) in the substrate. Further, for this reason, it is difficult to improve resolution of an image that a transmission display obtained using a microlens substrate provided with the microlenses displays, for example.